Journey of Courage
by SchoolGirl013
Summary: Two friends have known each other since birth. One travels North to take up arms to serve his king, the other stays behind to care for the village she's known and loved. When war threatens to tear their home apart, can they find the strength in each other, their loved ones, as well as themselves, in order to survive? Or will they all be destroyed by the War of the Ring?


_This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends._

_John 15:12-13_

Chapter 1

It had been unusually cold that evening, with the wind howling, it's frosty bite cutting through the fabric of whatever unfortunate soul happened to find themselves outside at that point in the night. Arella, consequently, was one of those "unfortunate souls", shivering like mad as she yanked her scraggly cloak even tighter around her frail shoulders, one hand clutching the fabric to her thin frame, the other wrapped comfortingly around the nose of her dear steed Wryn, whose proud head was lowered against the wind, and every once in a while gave an indignant snort to the untamed weather. The gesture was more or less for her benefit, as she had always felt a sense of unease whenever the sun sank behind the horizon, and having another living creature beside her gave her comfort. Nudging closer to Wryn, Arella couldn't help but smile dryly as she thought of the reason that brought her out here in the first place, when a frantic knock on her family's door had roused her from her sleep, the culprit being the miller's daughter, whose mother, having been with child for quite some time now, had finally gone into labor, and the poor girl, being a few years younger than Arella herself, was in a complete panic, not knowing what to do to help her mother. Arella's own mum had left with a small party for a nearby village. A few of the children there had been struck with a terrible fever, and the herbs that were used for a sort of soothing balm, were unavailable amongst their gardens, so her mother and a few others had to embark on a two-day journey to deliver it themselves.

Caught in a rather tight spot, Arella was unsure of what to do. She had merely observed her mother and a few other women deliver babies, but had never done it herself, and the mere thought of having to do so frightened her. She nearly refused, but looking at the girl's pale face (whether caused by the cold or the girl's own panic) she couldn't find herself to do so, and, muttering a few curses underneath her breath, snatched up her cloak and, after leaving Arena in Peona's care, awoke Wryn from his sleep, and rode bareback, with the girl seated behind her, to the small hut where her mother was. To Arella's great relief, the girl's older sister had already been there. Unfortunately, through a tragic accident, (involving a very angry horse) the young woman was struck blind, and was unable to manually help her mother give birth. However, with her guidance, Arella was able deliver a healthy baby boy, gently handing him into the arms of his awaiting mother. (Odd, how the woman's daughter knew so much about childbirth, yet had never done it before, but Arella did not pursue the issue)

After staying awhile to assure herself that both mother and child were fine, Arella thanked the eldest girl and bid the family farewell before departing with an impatient Wryn, who seemed more than eager to return home and get back to sleep. Now, as girl and horse tiredly trekked through the cold, Arella tried to gauge how far they were from their destination when something caught her attention. She stopped abruptly, much to her horse's annoyance, but Arella paid no heed to that as she tilted her head behind her and listened intently. She was sure she heard something behind...yes, there it was. Hooves, aside from her Wryn's, were crunching against the cold-stiffened grass, heading in the direction she just came. Following the hoof-steps was a small snort. Arella wasn't all too surprised. There were many a wild horse roaming the hills in Rohan, and the people of her village would often find one or two picking at the grasses near their homes. What had confused and surprised her, though, was what came after the horse's snort.

"Quiet, Nolan, we don't want wake anyone now do we? Come on girl, we're almost out of here"

Almost immediately, Arella recognized the horse's name, and knew that voice all too well. She turned completely around to face the direction the voice came in, making out the silhouette of a horse and young man in the moonlight.

What in Théoden's good name?

"Henor?" she called out, loud enough so that it could be heard over the wind, but low enough as to not attract attention. The figure stiffened, and shifted in the dark, which meant, to Arella's guess, that he had turned to face her. Now the figure seemed to stand completely straight in shock, his hand shooting out to snatch up the horse's reins, and the sound of grass crunching increasing as he raced toward her. He slowed until he was only just a foot or two from her, and Arella was certain, with the shaggy hair, square jaw, wide eyes, that it was Henor. "What are you doing out here, Henor?" she hissed.

By the looks of his horse's rather heavily laden saddle, Arella had the feeling that he wasn't out for a late evening walk. Henor regarded her with narrowed eyes and took a step closer, decreasing the distance between them by a foot. "I could ask you the same question, Ella", he snapped, using her nickname that he had given her. Arella's arm had left Wryn's nose, and now crossed the other over her chest as she jutted her chin at her childhood friend. "The miller's wife had gone into labor. I was just on my way home after helping to deliver the baby. By the way, in case you were curious, it's a boy, and perfectly healthy if I do say so myself" she stated, adding the last bit with a hint of venom, indicating her annoyance with Henor's stubbornness.

"Now that I've told you my whereabouts, I do believe it's your turn". She watched as his jaw tightened in annoyance, as he regarded her considerably, before running a hand through his hair, which was already mussed up from the wind, and sighing. "Arella I'm, "he hesitated, "well, I'm leaving". To say that the young woman was surprised by his confession was an understatement. Now, with Henor's father being a merchant, over the years Arella had gotten used to the father and son's coming and going's, but usually, Henor would tell her that they would be leaving, in a week's notice at the very least. This certainly was unexpected.

"Wh-what?" she stumbled, her arms now falling limp at her sides. "Where?" The already high level of discomfort brought on by the ongoing exchange only increased as Henor hesitated, yet again, and Arella's patience decreased as time slowly dragged on. "Henor!", Arella exclaimed, "You're telling me that you're going to run off, in the middle of the night, with no intention of telling your family or friends, leavinig them to spend Edoras knows how long worrying for your safety? And what about your poor father? You know how much he loves you, right? If he knew you were missing, he would travel to all four corners of Rohan, dare I say all of Middle Earth to find you! Have you even **considered** that?" Henor stared at his friend, allowing her words to sink in. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed in defeat. He hated it when she did that to him, always making him feel guilty whenever it came to certain decisions he would make. It was just like when they were little kids, and he had wanted to ride one of the wild horses they had spotted wandering the fields near their town.

She had launched into this long speech about what would happen; he could spook the horse and it could trample him, breaking his little body and possibly killing him, leaving his poor father to mourn the loss of his only son. He had no desire for riding that horse after that, to say the least. Henor noticed that she always seemed to bring up his father in these types of conversations. Now, yet again, she had made him feel extremely guilty, and while he felt like he had to leave, he knew that he owed it to her to at least tell her **why**. "I'm...enlisting. In Rohan's army." Bracing for whatever speech Arella had prepared for him **now, **he looked at her, only to see her face soften in suprise, her eyes wide, and her mouth agape. "Really?", she finally spoke, in a voice that Henor could barely hear. "Why?' Henor sighed, whether it was from the feeling of him not wanting to fully explain, or a simple sigh of relief from her reaction. "Father and I had a delivery to Edoras, a blacksmith who needed a few tools, and while we were there, we discovered more of Rohan's soldiers riding out of the city. Father asked why, and the man told him that strange things were happening. Villagers were reporting sightings of wild riders, the numbers of the reports slowly growing each day. Father hadn't believed him, that is until, on the trail home, we were attacked by them." At this Arella's eyes widened. She remembered that day. Henor and his father had come home, beaten to a near inch of their life. Their wagon was in shambles with most of their supplies gone, and Nolan was spooked so badly, it took five of them to settle her enough to allow someone to unhitch the wagon. Arella and her mother spent days, perhaps weeks, nursing the two men back to health. She believed it had been wolves who had assaulted them.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

"Father and I both realize we wouldn't be able to bring supplies to and from villages," Henor continued." With the trails being so dangerous, our only route of transportation was gone, and with it, any hope of getting any money, at all. So, I remembered hearing in Edoras that the soldiers are paid rather well… "

"…And you believed that if you enlisted, you could earn the money to send back here", Arella finished, slowly nodding her head as she began to understand. Henor nodded, his expression serious. "Oh, Henor," she whispered, almost to herself. Her eyes darted to the ground, and she felt the heat rise to her face in shame. "I'm so sorry". Here she believed it had been simply another foolish notion he would often get. Henor couldn't help but smile. Arella was a sort of….kindred spirit. She never wanted to harm anyone or anything if she could help it. "Arella, it's alright. You were just ….speaking from your heart, that's all." His response sent a wave of relief through her, and she looked up to him and smiled, until a thought just occured to her. It had been weeks since their last trip to Edoras, the day they were attacked. How long had he been planning this? "How long..", she began. "Have I been planning on doing this?", he finished, voicing her very thoughts. A sly smirk crept its way onto his face, "The evening of when we arrived from Edoras." Arella couldn't help but smile. "That long, hm?" Henor nodded, his smirk softening a little. However, it disappeared as he turned to Arella with a serious look. "You now know why I have to do this 'Ella. Not **need** to, **have **to." She felt her heart sink as the reality of the situation struck her, full force. Her dearest friend was leaving. For how long, she did not know. "Yes", she finally answered, "I do. Just...come back safe, alright?" Her eyes bore deep into his, and although he's never known her to be angry, Henor could see the intensity behind her eyes. She was **serious**. She wanted him to come back, **alive**. "'Ella", he whispered, before reaching out and enveloping her in a tight embrace. He could feel her tears seeping through his tunic, and he felt a few escape his eyes and fall onto her hair, which he found himself burrowing his face in, trying to cherish this last moment with his dear friend.

"I can't expect you to keep this from my father, can I?" he finally said, smiling into her hair. Arella had a history at being a terrible keeper of secrets, and an even worse liar. She shook her head against his chest, and found herself chuckling a little. "No, I'm afraid you can't", she murmured. Giving her one last squeeze, Henor finally pulled away from her, holding her out at arms length. Arella gave him a soft smile, which he returned, as she reached up to brush the tears stains from his face, her touch gentle. He looked at her tenderly and leaned foward to place a soft kiss on her forhead before pulling away and reaching out to stroke her horse's nose. "You take good care of her while I'm gone, alright Wryn?" The horse winnied in response, and pushed his nose against Henor's shoulder affectionately. Arella chuckled at this, before wrapping her arms around Nolan's neck. "You stay safe too, girl" she whispered softly. Although she wasn't her master, Nolan felt great love and affection from Arella, as much as she gave Wryn. Henor took up the reigns and carefully swung himself onto the saddle. "Goodbye Arella", he spoke, looking apon his child-hood friend sadly. "Good-bye, Henor", she said, fresh tears brimming her eyes. She took a step back, allowing him to swing his horse around, and gallop towards the edge of the village. Arella looked on with one arm wrapped around Wryn's nose, watching her friend ride away, until he disappeared into the shadows of the night. With him gone, the cold of the night seemed to return with a vengence. Arella shivered, yet kept her eyes trained on the direction her friend left in. "Stay safe," she whispered.


End file.
